


One Year Later

by Khylara



Category: Public Enemies (2009)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2014-06-19
Packaged: 2018-02-05 09:38:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1813828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khylara/pseuds/Khylara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A year after the Biograph shooting, Mel receives an unexpected gift</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Year Later

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BradyGirl_12](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BradyGirl_12/gifts).



> 2010 Birthday gift fic for Bradygirl_12

Special Agent Melvin Purvis sighed as he surveyed the three tall stacks of file folders that were on his desk.  _They weren’t here last night,_  he thought as he hung his overcoat and hat on the nearby wooden rack. He had left his desk empty, having just finished going through three very similar stacks of folders.  It had taken him weeks to read through those files, scanning every piece of paper, following leads long gone cold for cases years old, fighting rage and despair and mind numbing boredom the entire time. 

 

_And from the looks of things, I’m going to be doing it all again,_  he mused as he went over to his desk and flipped open a file.  Faded papers and badly handwritten notes greeted him.  Annoyed, he flipped it shut.   _This is work for a Junior Agent. Or a secretary. Why is it on my desk?_

 

He knew why.  He knew why all too well.  It was punishment, plain and simple.  Petty, vindictive punishment, thought up by a man used to having his own way and not getting it, so he was resorting to childish ways designed to get his point across. Little by little Purvis’ other duties and responsibilities had been taken away from him, given to other agents and other offices, until he had been left with this – busy work suited more for probationary agents than for someone of his experience and tenure.

 

The one time he had tried to delegate the work to another agent the folders had been on his desk the next morning, topped with a terse note from Hoover ordering him to do the job he had been assigned and not give himself any more “grand airs”.  He was an agent for the Bureau of Investigation, the note had continued on, and it was time he acted like it by pulling his weight.

 

At the time, the words had stung, especially since Purvis knew they weren’t true.  He had gone above and beyond the call of duty a number of times and Hoover had never doubted him before.  It was only since the hunt to bring John Dillinger to justice had begun that J. Edgar had found cause to question his work.  And his loyalty.

 

_And all because I said no to him,_  Melvin thought, remembering with a shudder his last visit to Hoover’s Washington DC office and the Director’s wandering hands.  Combined with the thinly veiled innuendos he had overheard coming from his own agents here in Chicago and Hoover’s blatant, baldy stated request…  _I should have said more than no to him.  I should have punched him square in the jaw._   To this day he wasn’t sure why he didn’t. The proposition had been indecent to the extreme.

 

Which had only proved one thing.  Hoover had known about him and Johnny.  How he had found out, Purvis didn’t know, but he had. And if Hoover knew, then the entire Bureau did, because something like that never stayed a secret for long.

 

_Hoover saw it as me playing the whore, doing whatever was necessary to get what I wanted. If I was with a known criminal, why shouldn’t I choose to be with him as well?_ An ache suddenly filled his heart.  _But it was different with Johnny. There was love between us, even if it had only been for one night._   One stolen night together…it had been all they could manage, with the police after Johnny and Purvis himself being watched.  One night in Purvis’ apartment, in Purvis’ own bed, making love until just before dawn. One night of hungry moonlit kisses, stolen caresses and softly whispered promises. Promises that had been irretrievably broken in front of The Biograph Theatre days later. 

 

A year ago tonight, he had lost the one thing, the one person in his life who had held any meaning for him.  A year ago tonight, his life had changed forever, leaving him numb with loss and his heart broken beyond repair.

 

_I tried to warn you,_  he thought for what had to be the thousandth, the millionth time.   _Anna Sage…I was so sure she’d warn you…or at the very least tell Polly and she’d say something to you.  But they didn’t.  Neither of then said anything to you and there was no way I could get to you to warn you myself, not with my every move being watched after Bohemia._  He sagged into his desk chair.   _I should have done more…tried harder. You didn’t have to die…_

 

He brushed a hand over his wet eyes.  It wouldn’t do for one of the other agents to come walking into his office and see him so upset; there were rumors enough about him.   _Not that I care,_ he mused as he opened a desk drawer in search of a handkerchief.  He honestly didn’t care about anything anymore.

 

His fingers brushed against something unfamiliar, something he knew didn’t belong in his desk.  He pulled out the bulky envelope, frowning as he did so. How  _did that get in there?_  he wondered as he glanced at his office door.   _I thought for sure I locked that last night._   Granted that wouldn’t stop someone determined to get in if he chose to, especially since the locks weren’t the best and Hoover’s man Cowley had a key.

 

Pushing that question aside for the moment, he tore open the envelope and emptied the contents onto his desk. There was a letter addressed to him, an airline ticket and a well-worn black velvet box.

 

Confused, Melvin picked up the plane ticket first.   _One way to Cuba,_  he read, his eyes widening a little.   _And it’s dated for this afternoon. But why? And who wants me to go to Cuba?_   Shaking his head, he put the ticket aside and reached for the box next.

 

He nearly dropped it onto the floor when he opened it and saw what it contained.   _Johnny’s ring._   His vision blurred with fresh tears. Not once in the brief time he had known the gangster had Johnny ever taken off the square cut ruby and diamond ring, not even when they had made love.  Melvin still remembered how the cold of the metal had contrasted with the heat of Johnny’s hand as Dillinger caressed him from head to toe; the feeling had nearly turned him inside out at the time. He had looked for it after the shooting and not found it, finally hoping that maybe Johnny’s father had taken it off his finger and not some opportunist looking for a souvenir.

 

What was it doing here?

 

Finally, he picked up the plain white envelope.   _Maybe this will give me some answers,_ he thought as he picked up his letter opener and slid it under the sealed flap.  He could only hope so.

 

The letter was short and to the point – classic Dillinger, who had never seen the need to mince words when it came to the important things – and written in so hasty a scrawl that Purvis could barely read it.  But when he did, Melvin felt his heart soar into parts unknown.

 

             ** _Come ride with me, Sunshine._**

 

_Johnny’s alive._   Those two words echoed over and over in Melvin’s head, filling him with incomprehensible joy as numb fingers crumpled the paper. The ring could have been duplicated by a good jeweler, but this…this was unmistakable proof. No one else in the world called him Sunshine.   _He’s alive. And he wants me with him, wherever he i_ s. His euphoric mood came crashing down not even a moment later. _But I can’t.  As much as I want to…I can’t go to him._

Wait…why couldn’t he?

 

What did he have here in Chicago?

 

_Nothing,_  Melvin realized as he picked up the box again and gazed into the red depths of the ring.  Charles Winstead had gone back to Texas with the rest of his Rangers, taking an ecstatic Doris with him after a quick trip to the county clerk’s office. The rest of his men had been reassigned to other cities, other cases, leaving him with agents who were either being paid off by the city’s underworld element or who reported directly to Hoover and ignored him completely. He had no more power, no say in the day-to-day workings of his own office. His family back in South Carolina didn’t want anything to do with him and his only friend was gone, lost in the backwoods of Little Bohemia. All he had left was a job he had come to hate, in a city he couldn’t stand to be in any longer and working for a man he found morally repulsive.

 

_There’s nothing for me here,_  Melvin thought. His eyes found the brightly colored pasteboard plane ticket.   _But there’s something – someone – waiting for me._ He glanced up at the partially opened office door.   _All I have to do is walk out that door._

 

_Come ride with me, sunshine…_

 

Taking Johnny’s ruby ring out of the box, he slowly slipped it onto his finger, his heart skipping a beat when it fit perfectly.  “Johnny,” he breathed, a lone tear sliding down his cheek.  He closed his eyes, letting his emotions wash over him.  “Oh, Johnny…”

 

*

 

On his desk later that morning, Sam Cowley found a terse, one line letter from the former head of the Chicago office of the Bureau of Investigation

 

“I hereby tender my resignation, effective immediately,” it said. Simple and to the point, it left no doubt.   Under that one line was Melvin’s signature. On top of the letter itself, keeping it anchored to the desk with its weight, was Purvis’ badge.

 

Picking up the piece of paper, Cowley read it twice before letting out a heavy, resigned sigh. “I hope you find what you’re looking for, Melvin,” he said softly. Steeling himself against the explosion of anger he knew was going to come from his boss, Cowley picked up the phone and dialed Hoover’s Washington number.  “Sir, it’s Cowley. I’m afraid I have bad news…”

 

*

 

Melvin was out the door the minute the airplane door opened, scanning the crowd for a familiar face even as he made his way down the metal steps.   _He has to be here,_  he kept thinking over and over.   _He knew what time the plane arrived. Please…let him be here somewhere…_ Melvin didn’t know what he’d do if all this turned out to be nothing.

 

Just then he spotted a lone man standing away from the crowd, leaning against a palm tree as he smoked a cigarette. A light colored fedora was pulled over his eyes, and shadows from the tree shrouded the rest of his face, keeping him from being seen from the people passing by.  Melvin, however, didn’t need to see the man’s face to know who it was.

 

_Johnny…_  Heart hammering hard in his chest, Melvin began to run.

 

The moment he did, the figure standing under the tree tossed his cigarette aside and started coming forward, a grin lighting up his handsome face.  They were in each other’s arms a moment later and a broken sob escaped Melvin as he buried his face in the other man’s linen suited shoulder. Strong arms surrounding him, the spicy sweet scent of cologne mixed with the smokiness of his cigarettes, the solid feel of Johnny’s body against his as he felt a kiss pressed against his ear…  _I’ve missed this,_  he thought, tears burning in his eyes.  _So much. God, so much. Johnny…_

 

After a year spent broken, Melvin Purvis was finally whole.

 

He forced himself to draw away a moment later, his eyes bright as he surveyed the other man’s face.  “Johnny…how…I mean…that night…in front of the Biograph…”

 

“Shh, Sunshine,” Johnny murmured, silencing Purvis with a finger to the other man’s lips. “It’s a bit of a long story to go into right here and now. I’ll tell you later, when we’re by ourselves.  Fair?”  He waited for Melvin’s uncertain nod before continuing, turning the touch into a caress. “I am sorry for that, by the by. Didn’t mean to put you through all kinds of hell, but I didn’t have much of a choice. You were being watched.”

 

Purvis suddenly frowned.  “Hoover.”

 

“Not just him. Nitti, too.” At Melvin’s surprised look, Johnny nodded.  “You caught his attention after Bohemia. He thought you’d be gunning for him next, so he was keeping an eye on you, looking for a weak spot in case he wanted to take you out.”  He suddenly smiled.  “Didn’t count on someone else taking him out first.”

 

Melvin’s eyes widened as he remembered the car bomb that had gone off in front of Nitti’s bookmaking storefront right after The Biograph shooting. The gangster hadn’t survived. “That was you?”

 

“More like me calling in a few favors, but just the same.”  Johnny shrugged.  “It kept you safe.  If I couldn’t do that by being with you, I was damn sure gonna do everything I could to do it every other which way.” He suddenly frowned.  “Wish I could’ve done the same to that piece of filth you were working for, but by the time I knew what he had tried with you, I was here.”

 

Purvis shook his head.  “It doesn’t matter anymore. Hoover can fall face first off the Capitol Building for all I care.” There was a pause.  “I wish you had said something to me before.  Iunderstand why you didn’t…why you couldn’t…but I would’ve helped you if I had known.”

 

“And I couldn’t let you do that,” Johnny said with a fond shake of his head.  “I know you. You would’ve given up everything to help me and with the way my luck had been running back then the two of us would’ve gotten thrown in jail or shot at or even worse.” A sober look appeared on Dillinger’s face.  “Risking that with just me…that’s one thing.  But like I said, I wasn’t gonna risk you.”

 

“Then why this?” Melvin held up the hand that bore Johnny’s ring.  “And why now?”

 

“It’s been a year,” Johnny said matter-of-factly.  “No one’s come sniffing around, so I figured I was safe enough. Figured you’d be, too. We’re far enough away so no one’s gonna know who we are. As for why…” Reaching out, Johnny brushed a finger along Melvin’s cheekbone.  “I missed you.  Plain and simple. Thought I’d take a chance and see if you felt the same way.”  He paused.  “Was I wrong?

Finally, Melvin closed his eyes and leaned into the touch.  “No,” he whispered, nearly choking on the word. “No, you weren’t wrong. I have missed you. Johnny…” He didn’t get to finish the thought; cupping his face in his hands, Johnny drew him into a gentle kiss.

 

“I love you,” Melvin whispered when they finally drew away from each other.  “I love you so much. You don’t know…how bad it’s been without you…”

 

“Shh, my Sunshine. I do know. It’s been bad for me, too.” Johnny crooned, resting his forehead against Melvin’s. “But it’s all right now. Ain’t gonna leave you ever again.  I promise you.  Whatever happens …it’s gonna be me and you together, starting right now. A whole new beginning for the two of us,” Johnny said with a lopsided smile.  “So what’s say we find a bottle of good whiskey and celebrate it?”

 

For the first time in a year, Melvin Purvis grinned.  “I say that’s a fine idea,” he said, his eyes never leaving Johnny’s. “And if we happen to find it near a bed, so much the better.”

 

Taking the hand that wore his ring, Johnny kissed Melvin’s fingers before tangling his with them.  “Just so happens I know the perfect place a little ways from here,” he said as he began leading Melvin down the street.  “Little bungalow not too far from the beach, well stocked with everything two people could ever need and with the biggest brass bed you’ve ever seen.” His dark eyes sparkled merrily.  “Come ride with me, Sunshine?”

 

“Always,” Melvin said immediately, falling into step with the other man. “Just lead the way.”


End file.
